Since the first mesoporous silica known as M41S series was introduced by Mobil Oil Company in 1992, mesoporous silica alchemy was started. There have been reported many studies about preparation of mesoporous materials having different meso-phase types and morphologies through the use of a cationic, neutral or nonionic surfactant or surfactant mixture under basic, acidic and neutral conditions.
Developing inorganic/organic hybrid materials have been given many attentions, because it has been expected that organic and inorganic building blocks are assembled from a single material so that the advantages of both organic and inorganic materials are combined with each other. As compared to pure mesoporous silica or functional mesoporous silica having an organic group attached to the end thereof, periodical mesoporous organosilica (PMO) is characterized by its advantages of a periodical mesoporous silica material combined with those of a hybrid organic/inorganic material. A thioether functional group shows strong affinity to metal ions and imparts ideal functional sites to a mesoporous material as an efficient adsorbent for removing heavy metal ions from wastewater. Particularly, thioether groups may be oxidized into sulfonic acid groups functioning as acid catalysts which are given many attentions in the field of ordered mesoporous materials having a lot of disulfide groups loaded thereto. Bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPTS) or bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)disulfide (TESPDS) is an organic silane having a propyl, ethoxy and sulfide groups. In addition, interaction between such organic silanes and silica has been demonstrated sufficiently. However, there are only a few studies about nanoporous materials containing a thioether moiety in their lattice structures.
In addition, as nanostructural functional materials have been spotlighted, it has been possible to produce high-quality mesoporous silica and carbonaceous materials in a large scale. However, there is still a need for developing a method for preparing nanostructural functional materials in a more simple and cost-efficient manner.
Meanwhile, the dynamic limit of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an electrocatalyst is one of the most important issues in developing efficient proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Active studies have been conducted about various materials as catalyst carriers substituting for conventional carbon black (VC, Vulcan XC-72 Carbon) in order to improve electrocatalytical characteristics.
According to the related art, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-090911 discloses a core-shell structure carbon composite, which is prepared by using 4-{1-[2,4-dinitrophenyl]hydrazono}ethyl}benzene-1,3-diol as a structure-forming composite and is useful as a catalyst carrier for fuel cells. In addition, WO10/068,067 discloses core-shell structure carbon nanotubes useful as electrode materials for solar cells.